Summary

A funny, irreverent overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly in advertising. "Plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is...." Will anyone ever be able to forget this ad? There are certain ads that stay with us for the long haul-whether we want them to or not-usually because they have an incredibly catchy slogan or a completely annoying jingle that most of us will still be able to recite verbatim about twenty years down the road when even the address to our home seems a bit foggy. But if you work in an ad agency, you hope to create the catchy slogan instead of the annoying jingle, right? Luke Sullivan, a copywriter at one of the nation2s most prestigious ad agencies, divulges all the secrets to making a great ad. With hysterical examples and anecdotes, he gives tips and pointers on how to create an ad that will "go in one ear and stay there." Sullivan analyzes some of the best known and most appealing ads of all time as well as some of the most annoying ads ever created-including the eponymous Mr. Whipple. The book covers ads for all the various types of media: print, TV commercials, radio spots, billboards and direct mail. Luke Sullivan (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an award-winning copywriter at Fallon McElligott, an advertising agency which has developed campaigns for Time Magazine, Lee Jeans, Jim Beam Whiskey, and BMW, among others. Fallon McElligott was just named "Ad Agency of the Year" by AdWeek.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

ix

CHAPTER 1 Salesmen Don't Have to Wear Plaid Selling without selling out

1

(14)

CHAPTER 2 A Sharp Pencil Works Best Some thoughts on getting started

15

(18)

CHAPTER 3 A Clean Sheet of Paper Making an ad--the broad strokes

33

(38)

CHAPTER 4 Write When You Get Work Making an ad--some finer touches

71

(32)

CHAPTER 5 In the Future, Everyone Will Be Famous for 30 Seconds Some advice on making television commercials

103

(26)

CHAPTER 6 Radio Is Hell. But It's a Dry Heat. Some advice on working in a tough medium

129

(22)

CHAPTER 7 "Toto, I Have a Feeling We're Not in McCann-Erickson Anymore." Working out past the edge

151

(6)

CHAPTER 8 Only the Good Die Young The enemies of advertising

157

(24)

CHAPTER 9 Pecked to Death by Ducks Presenting and protecting your work

181

(34)

CHAPTER 10 A Good Book or a Crowbar Some thoughts on getting into the business

215

(16)

CHAPTER 11 Making Shoes versus Making Shoe Commercials Is this a great business or what?